There’s something special about turning a simple object into a conversation starter, and that’s exactly what your Toronto Zoo’s Rain Barrel Art Auction does. At first glance, it’s a collection of beautifully painted rain barrels. But spend a little more time with it, and you’ll realize it’s so much more: a celebration of community, creativity, conservation, and climate action-all rolled into one.

From the starting line to the finish line, the energy on race day was electric. Participants of all ages came together with one shared purpose: to support the polar bears and Arctic wolves at your Toronto Zoo and strengthen our ongoing conservation efforts.

If you’ve ever stopped to smell a particularly lovely flower, or kept an orchid on your kitchen windowsill to admire its bloom through the cold winter, you’re not alone. Plants have a way of capturing our attention in the most fantastical ways – with colours, textures, and scents that instinctively grab our attention and give us pause.